


Benefiting

by Trotop



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 21:30:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17169743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trotop/pseuds/Trotop
Summary: Of the importance to define your relationship. With actual words





	Benefiting

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, this is a silly little Chaleigh because they're my babies and I love them. English is not my mother tongue, so sorry if they're some mistakes left!

Everything started when Raleigh ended up inadvertently eavesdropping a private conversation between two J-techs.

Well, to be really accurate, everything started right after Pitfall, when Chuck and Raleigh started spending more and more time together in the med bay and then the PT sessions. The fights turned into friendly bickering and then light flirting until one day Chuck had grabbed Raleigh in a heated kiss claiming that sex was an excellent and very complete workout exercise.  He had been answered by a laugh and a “Really Hansen? Workout? That’s what you’re going with?” Which had earned Raleigh furrowed brows and a “Shut up wanker, and stop playing hard to get”.

And that’s how they had started having good sex together. It evolved into great sex, thanks to time and practice – lot of it - and ended up with more than half of Raleigh’s stuffs in Chuck’s room where he was sleeping every night by now.

(One could argue that everything started when big monsters named Kaijus started rising from the ocean but that would have been pushing it too far.)

But back to the conversation.

 After another taxing meeting with the UN, Raleigh had just wanted a little bit of calm and peace and had ended up in the desert mess at a small table in an alcove, hiding him to preying eyes, with a book and cup of tea. Two J-techs had come and sit at a table near him, close enough to hear them talking. By the time he realized the private nature of their conversation it was too late to move without being awkward. And that’s how he got stuck eavesdropping in spite of himself.

One of the girls was crying because she had found the guy she was seeing with another woman. When confronted, he apparently told her that they never said they were dating or being exclusive and thus, he had done nothing wrong. She then proceeded to list all the little signs that should have shown her that she was more involved in this than him. It had taken some time for her friend to calm her down and once they were gone, Raleigh had finally been able to get out of his hiding place and he had felt quite unsettled. At the time he had just assumed it was because he was feeling bad for her. Despite the fact that the world almost came to total destruction, there were still people having fun leading on others. He forgot quite quickly about it until around a week later.

He needed to go to his room to retrieve a book. When he entered, he was shocked by the bareness of it. There was almost nothing left in there since most of his belongings had migrated to Chuck’s. And it was while he was looking at his bed trying to remember when was the last time he actually slept here that it hit him.

All his stuff were at Chuck’s because he was always there. Because _they_ were always there.  They had had sex many many times before he started bringing up things into the Australian’s quarters. And despite that, Chuck had never been to Raleigh’s room. The J-techs words came back to his mind: how they indeed never defined their status, how she was always the one going to him, how he didn’t seem that much interested in her life…. He felt something wrong settle in his stomach and sat on his bed. Had he fooled himself? Was Chuck really as involved as he was?

He knew that Chuck was really bad with communication. His relationship with his father was the living proof of it, and they had the drift to help! But he had assumed that despite the absence of verbal confirmation Chuck actually cared for him considering how affectionate he was with him. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe that was just how Chuck acted with all his lovers and he had just seen too much into it.

He knew for a fact that Chuck had never had any real relationships, only hookups and one-night stands, mostly because being a jaeger pilot and the world coming to an end didn’t really let him have time for more. And it never occurred to him that maybe he was just another hookup for Chuck. During their first time, Chuck had told him that they should stick together for the sex, because being the saviors of the world and all, sleeping with total strangers could be dangerous. “You’ll never know, they could be completely crazy fanatics Ray!” At the time Raleigh had dismissed it as a weak excuse if not a bad joke. Just like the “good workout” thing. But now, he was actually starting to wonder if Chuck hadn’t just actually stated his mind. The Australian brat might be bad at communication, but he was well known for having no problem telling what was in his mind.

So maybe their actual situation was just a big misunderstanding. Chuck believed that Raleigh agreed with his thinking and ended up moving in for the practicality, or probably something like that, while he stupidly believed they were in a relationship growing strong and had fallen head over heels for the kid.

Because yes, that was where the problem really lied; he was completely in love with the redhead. Had been for quite a while, probably before they even start sleeping together. So yeah, he was truly and completely fucked.

He stayed on his bed for a while, trying to calm down, to get rid of the sick feeling twisting his guts. He needed to decide what to do. Go on and pretend or not.

\---------

It had been a little bit over three weeks since The Big Revelation and so far Raleigh was following the coward way. He had promised himself that he would confront Chuck and end things if his fears were confirmed; but he had kept on finding excuses to not have the confrontation yet. He just wanted a little bit more time with him. He had risked his life to save the world; he deserved a little indulgence, even from himself.

Right now, he was contemplating the room, Chuck’s room: his books were starting to get mixed with Chuck’s, one of his sweaters was wrapped on the back of the chair by the desk, and he could see the two toothbrushes and towels in the bathroom from the open door.  They were both in bed, each reading a book, Chuck leaning against him, with Max sleeping in his basket at the foot of their bed. A quiet night in. It felt so domestic! Was he really the only one feeling that way?

But maybe them being in bed and not having sex was actually a bad thing. Maybe Chuck was tired of him. And if the redhead believed that Raleigh was only in for the sex, then it might be his way of getting rid of Raleigh.

What if he had someone else? No, no way. They were spending too much time together and Raleigh slept there every night. He would have noticed.

Would he? So many people had been cheated on while living together without having the slightest doubt. Why would he be the exception?

Okay, he needed to calm down. Arguing with yourself inside your head was the final proof that he was not doing okay.  He looked at Chuck, and decided that he needed to address the problem now. He was going to drive himself crazy if he kept like this. So he took a deep breath and went for it.

“Chuck, why are we never sleeping in my room?”

Chuck answered immediately without even stopping reading his book “Because you don’t have a bed for Max”.

And wait… What? Raleigh found himself completely dumbfounded and was just blinking at him. He had absolutely not thought of this. It was so simple, so pragmatic… so Chuck actually. He never considered the slobbery pile of wrinkles as part of the equation. Which knowing the Australian was completely stupid.

“So if I were to buy a dog bed, we could actually sleep in my room?”

Chuck frowned and looked at him. “Well yeah of course. I mean it’s PPDC quarters so the way that I see it one room equals another. But if you want us to use your room, I don’t have a problem with it I reckon.”

So simple.

“Are we dating?” Raleigh winced the second the words left his mouth but he couldn’t help it.

Chuck’s frown deepened and he actually put his book down. “What do you mean? Isn’t it obvious? I know that I am not good with words but I thought you knew.” He seemed worried.

Raleigh felt suddenly so stupid. Of course he knew. “I know. Sorry. It’s just me being the dumb blond. I just heard someone saying something and then realized that you’ve never slept in my room and….”

“Is your room that important for you? Because you should have said something sooner and we would have moved there and…”

“It’s not!” So stupid “It’s absolutely not. It’s just…”Damn, he had to explain himself now didn’t he? “I thought that maybe it was because you didn’t really felt the need to come to me, you know. That maybe you just saw us as, like, friends with benefits or something…”

Chuck was looking at him quite bewildered, and then suddenly started to laugh.

“Wow Rals you got it so wrong. Yeah I used to have just one-night stands and all, but they never ever gotten into my room. I mean it is a PPDC bedroom and privacy is not a big thing here. But still, it was my room, my bed and I would never have let any of them in it.” He then rolled his eyes, “Come on we are cuddling all the time. You really think that’s how I act with hookups? “

“Well, I was seeing us more as friends with benefits than a hookup” Raleigh tried sheepishly. There was just no way to win this one. He had been quite stupid, and he was sure that Chuck would never let him live it down.

Chuck stared at him looking quite bewildered. “You’ve been sleeping here for weeks now. Hell, for months! And we haven’t been “benefiting” every time”.

He actually made the air quotes. Yep, definitely not going to let it down.

“You have brought all your stuffs here!” Chuck continued, visibly enjoying himself now. “Do you know how friends with benefits work?”

“I didn’t bring all of my stuffs here. I have things left in my room.”

Chuck looked perplex. “But …. Why? It doesn’t make sense you’re never there.”

Raleigh started opening his mouth to answer and try to save his face a little. But just deflated.

“I have no Idea. Probably because I never really officially moved in. I just brought my things here when I needed them. And what’s left over there are the things I haven’t needed…. Yet.”

Chuck shook his head while rolling his eyes.

“Man, you really can be such a dumb blonde sometimes.”

He took Raleigh’s book that had fallen into his lap, long forgotten, and put it on the side with his own before turning back to Raleigh.

“Now, I say, tomorrow we’ll go to your room and finish packing it so you can officially move in. But first, how about some benefiting?”

 


End file.
